January 2014

Topic

“The Story of Sprawl” Is a Collection of Historic Films That Show How America Has Changed Shape

This 2-disc set is an unprecedented visual document of how sprawl happened, told through a series of historic films ranging from 1939's The City, created by famed planner Lewis Mumford, to No Time For Ugliness from 1965, produced by the American Institute of Architects. With specially-recorded commentary from notable authors, academics, and architects like James Howard Kunstler, Andrés Duany, Jacky Grimshaw, and many more. In planning circles, it is fashionable to debate the merits or drawbacks of the spread of suburban living that happened in the 20th century. What isn’t up for debate is that it happened - from the early '40s until the beginning of the 21st century, the American pattern of development changed radically.

We will be viewing and discussing Disc 1, comprising:

The Story of Sprawl (3 minutes)
Introduction by Tim Halbur of Congress for the New Urbanism

Chapter 1 - The City, 1939 (31:10 minutes)
Commentary by James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere and Duncan Crary of the Institute for Humanist Studies

Chapter 2 - Cities: How They Grow, 1952 (9:08 minutes)
Commentary by Anthony Flint, author of This Land:The Battle over Sprawl and the Future of America